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Core Faculty

Joseph Williams, MD, FASAM

Associate Professor, UNC Department of Psychiatry

Clinical Interests: inpatient addiction medicine, forensic behavioral health, academic addiction medicine, carceral psychiatry

Chief Responsibilities:

  • Director, Addiction Medicine Program
  • Program Director, Addiction Medicine Fellowship
  • Director, Carceral Psychiatry Services
  • Physician, Addiction Medicine Consult Service, STAR Clinic, ATLAS Mobile Clinic
  • Seminar Supervisor

Lucien Gonzalez, MD, MS, FAAP

Associate Professor, UNC Department of Psychiatry

Clinical Interests: Non-pharmacological approaches to youth substance use and co-occurring behavioral health concerns, community-based interventions for youth substance use

Board Certifications: Addiction Medicine, Pediatrics

Chief Responsibilities:

  • Associate Program Director for Clinical Affairs, UNC Addiction Medicine Fellowship
  • Medical Director, STAR Clinic
  • Physician, Addiction Medicine Consult Service, STAR Clinic
  • Seminar Supervisor

Shonali Saha, MD, FASAM

Assistant Professor, UNC Department of Psychiatry

Clinical Interests: Improving criminal legal system responses to substance use disorders, liberation psychology, mindfulness and other contemplative practices for the treatment of substance use disorders, harm reduction, psychedelic-assisted therapy

Board Certifications: Addiction Medicine, Internal Medicine

Chief Responsibilities:

  • Associate Program Director for Educational Affairs, UNC Addiction Medicine Fellowship
  • Supervisor, Psychiatry Residency Addiction Medicine Seminar Series
  • Physician, Addiction Medicine Consult Service, STAR Clinic, ATLAS Mobile Clinic
  • Seminar Supervisor

Roy Stein, MD

Professor, UNC Department of Psychiatry

Clinical Interests: Motivational interviewing, treatment of co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders, integration of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy in addiction treatment

Board Certifications: Addiction Psychiatry, Psychiatry

Chief Responsibilities:

  • Physician, STAR Clinic
  • Seminar Supervisor

Jennifer Kemper, MD

Assistant Professor, UNC Department of Psychiatry

Clinical Interests: health care equity, psychosis and substance use disorders, first episode psychosis, physician learner education

Board Certifications: Addiction Medicine, Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry

Chief Responsibilities:

  • Physician, STAR Clinic
  • Medical Director, Wake Encompass

Irina Phillips, MD

Assistant Professor, UNC Department of Anesthesiology

Clinical Interests: intersection of pain and substance use disorder

Board Certifications: Addiction Medicine, Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine

Chief Responsibilities:

  • Physician, Addiction Medicine Consult Service, STAR Clinic
  • Rotation Supervisor, Pain Consult Service Rotation

Maria Gabriela (Gaby) Castro, MD

Associate Professor, UNC Department of Family Medicine

Clinical Interests: substance use disorder treatment, mental health, rural primary care, rural residency training

Board Certifications: Family Medicine

Chief Responsibilities:

  • Physician, STAR Clinic
  • Research Lead, NC STAR Network
  • Seminar Supervisor

Michael Baca-Atlas, MD, FASAM

Associate Professor, UNC Department of Family Medicine

Clinical Interests: enhanced primary care for serious mental illness, MOUD with long-acting injectables, pregnant and parenting individuals with substance use disorder, trauma informed/person centered care, motivational interviewing in primary care

Board Certifications: Addiction Medicine, Family Medicine

Chief Responsibilities:

  • Rotation Supervisor, Tobacco Consult Rotation
  • Medical Director, REACH Enhanced Primary Care
  • Associate Medical Director, Tobacco Treatment Program

 

Additional Supervising and Affiliated Faculty/Providers

Sasha Deutsch-Link, MD – Hepatology

  • UNC Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Hersh Shroff, MD, MPA – Hepatology

  • UNC Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Claire West, MD – NC STAR Network

  • UNC Department of Medicine, Division of General Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology

Andrea Knittel, MD, PhD, FACOG – Horizons Program

  • UNC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Elisabeth Johnson, PhD, FNP-BC, CARN-AP, LCAS – Horizons Program

  • UNC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Dominika James, MD – Pain Medicine

  • UNC Department of Anesthesiology

Letitia Hazel, MD – SouthLight Healthcare

Ben Powell, PA – SouthLight Healthcare

Harold Hong, MD – New Waters Recovery